Less than a quarter of children in need in Nottinghamshire meet education standard

The figures show looked-after children, pupils in care and those with a child protection plan lag behind their Key Stage 2 classmates.

They also show the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in key stage one grew during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Association of School and College Leaders said the most vulnerable pupils have been “most heavily affected by the disruption of the pandemic” and called for greater financial and social support.

The latest Department for Education figures show 36 of 165, 22 per cent, children in need in KS2 in Nottinghamshire met the required standard for reading, writing and maths in 2021-22, compared with 59 per cent for all pupils, outlining the gulf between more vulnerable pupils and their peers.

Further DfE figures show the gap between children in need and all pupils in KS1 has grown during the pandemic.

The proportion of children in need across England reaching the expected standard for reading and writing fell by 21 per cent and 28 per cent respectively from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

But attainment for all pupils in the same subjects across the same time period fell by 11 per cent and 17 per cent.

It was a similar story for maths and science, with the percentage of vulnerable pupils meeting the expected grade falling by 20 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, compared with 11 per cent and 6 per cent for all pupils.

The ASCL said vulnerable pupils have been “most heavily affected” by the pandemic.

Margaret Mulholland, ASCL advisor on special educational needs or disability policy, said: "As we return to more settled conditions, there must be focused on support for disadvantaged children from early years right through to post-16 education.

“We echo calls for the pupil premium to be weighted more heavily in favour of persistently disadvantaged pupils, and for more research to be done on the drivers of poor outcomes for vulnerable children.

“Greater financial and social support is needed to reduce the effects of deprivation that are having a direct impact on their learning.”

The DfE figures show 46 per cent of KS2 children in need in Nottinghamshire reached the expected standard for reading, 33 per cent for writing and 35 per cent for maths.

For all pupils, 75 per cent met the expected reading standard, 71 per cent in writing and 73 per cent in maths.

A DfE spokesman said: “At the heart of the Government’s agenda is an ambition to drive up standards, quality, and outcomes for all pupils. Our record speaks for itself with 88 per cent of schools now Ofsted rated good or outstanding, compared with 68 per cent in 2010.“We know the pandemic had an impact on pupils learning, which is why we’ve made available almost £5 billion in education recovery initiatives, through which nearly three million tutoring courses have started.

“We are also supporting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils through pupil premium funding, which will increase to £2.9 billion in 2023-24 – the highest cash terms rate since this funding began.”